Chicago (CNSNews.com) - A board member of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition says auto-racing organizations such as NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) are "the last bastion of white supremacy" in professional sports.

Speaking Tuesday at the 32nd annual Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Conference in Chicago, Bill Shack said, "I want you to know that this is this last bastion of white supremacy in a particular sport. This is the last bastion."

He made the comments at a workshop called "Motor Sports: Increasing Minority Participation," and the criticism came despite NASCAR's six-figure support of Jackson's organization.

Shack suggested that race-car organizations don't reach out to minorities because they "don't particularly...want you out there, no more than they wanted Tiger [golfer Tiger Woods] out there."

This has "nothing to do with a moral response -- nothing at all, because they don't have very much of that. If they did, they would have done something before now," Shack said, referring to outreach efforts by auto racing organizations.

Ironically, NASCAR was a "platinum" sponsor of Jackson's 2002 Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual conference, and it reportedly has donated at least $250,000 to Jackson's group in recent years. It remained unclear whether NASCAR served as a sponsor of this year's conference.

'Appeasement doesn't pay'

One critic of Jesse Jackson who is leading an effort to end NASCAR's financial support of Rainbow/PUSH said this just proves that "appeasement doesn't pay."

Peter Flaherty, president of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), told CNSNews.com, "NASCAR kicks in all this money to Jackson's groups, sends representatives to Jackson's conference, and they still get attacked as "white supremacists.'" \tx1800 "NASCAR is finding out the hard way that appeasing Jesse Jackson doesn't work. The more you give him, the more he demands," Flaherty added.

The NLPC is the Washington, D.C.-based legal watchdog group that filed a formal complaint about Jackson's finances with the Internal Revenue Service in 2001.

NLPC's campaign to end NASCAR's support of Jackson has created a "political firestorm" for NASCAR, according to the weekly auto sports publication NASCAR Winston Cup Scene. NASCAR has defended its donations to Jackson as part of its efforts to bring more minority participation to motor sports.

'Mandated sensitivity training'

George Pyne, NASCAR's chief operating officer, arrived at the workshop shortly after Shack's diatribe against auto racing. Pyne told the workshop that NASCAR is vigorously reaching out to minorities. \tx1800 Pyne cited the organization's "mandated sensitivity training" for all employees as well as NASCAR's efforts to reach "a diverse audience" through its diversity council, intern programs and college tours.

Pyne was most proud of the fact that his organization has hired a woman who formerly worked at a Denny's restaurant."

"You know Denny's was ranked the worst in the country in the area of diversity," but after a concerted effort, went from "worst to first." Denny's efforts at minority outreach followed highly publicized racial discrimination allegations.

Pyne cautioned, "Real progress comes slow, but we are looking for sustained results."

However, one woman in the crowd took exception to Pyne's concept of "slow results" and told him that Denny's turned itself around in 18 months because it made a serious commitment to diversity. She said NASCAR could do the same thing if it really wanted to.

'I am seeing confederate flags'

African-American professional drag racer Rikkia Mills was not impressed with Pyne's presentation on behalf of NASCAR.

"I think that [NASCAR is] doing it for money reasons, not for the right reasons," she said.

The 21-year-old Mills criticized motor sports as a "good ole boy network" that has not welcomed her. "I have a double negative as a black a female...they are not looking for black females," Mills said.

She also expressed hostility for some of NASCAR's fans. "When I watched NASCAR on TV, I saw people holding confederate flags. I am not going to go somewhere where I am seeing confederate flags all the time," Mills said.

'Public relations fiasco'

The National Legal and Policy Center's Flaherty predicted that NASCAR's appearance at Jackson's conference and the treatment it received there would further add to what he called NASCAR's "public relations fiasco."

"NASCAR fans have objected to NASCAR's support for Jackson by the thousands. When is NASCAR going to understand that Jesse Jackson has nothing to offer them?" Flaherty asked.

When CNSNews.com asked NASCAR's Pyne about the company's involvement with Jackson, he refused to respond.

"I don't have anything to say," Pyne told CNSNews.com.

The program for this year's Rainbow/PUSH conference does not list NASCAR as a sponsor, but Pyne's nametag at the event bore a "sponsor" ribbon on it.

When specifically asked if NASCAR was a sponsor of the Rainbow/PUSH conference, Pyne again refused to answer and walked away.

Jackson spokeswoman Keiana Peyton could not clear up the mystery as to whether NASCAR was a sponsor. Peyton said she believed NASCAR was a sponsor but could not immediately confirm it.

Flaherty views NASCAR's refusal to clarify its sponsorship as another example of how "NASCAR is playing games" with the public over its support of Jackson.

'Hate baiting'

Jackson personally blasted the National Legal and Policy Center's campaign to end NASCAR's support of his organization in an interview in May, accusing the group of "hate baiting."

"These attacks by the [National Legal &] Policy Center, these are unending attacks...they have nothing to do with what we do," Jackson told the weekly newspaper NASCAR Winston Cup Scene. The publication is independent of NASCAR.

"Dr. Martin Luther King was called a communist, he was called a nigger, he was hated, he was killed. This kind of hate-baiting is really a perversion," Jackson said of the NLPC.

But despite Jackson's harsh attacks on NLPC, Flaherty vowed to continue his campaign to pressure NASCAR to end its support of Jackson.

Everyone knows that simply being white in America is now prima facie evidence of being a hatemongering criminal. And being a self-appointed black leader permits you to call anyone who crosses you a "racist" with impunity.

This is the kind of crap that PUSHes people into a state of resistance, or outright hostility, to the cause of racial color blindness. If these racists refuse to let it die, then why shouldn't everyone else, just to stay on the defensive?

I can see it now, race based preferences for seating at the track. If you are minority, you get preference for the high seats at the finish line (to make up for all the years of deprivation). This will be the subjective, not the objective use of race......

Jesse Jackson? Rikkia Mills? They are free to do what everyone else does: sponsor a team. In the case of Mills, a drag racing driver, very, very few from that segment of the sport have successfully made a transition into stock car racing where you actually have to turn the car. The stop watch doesn't care what color you are, but it does care about your lap time.

It's easy to bring "diversity" to a place like Dennys. It's difficult to equate an illiterate hash slinger or order taker to the skill necessary to be a driver or crew member in NASCAR.

Bringing in black drivers or crew members for the sole purpose of adding color to the track will certainly succeed. Unfortunately, that color will be blood when the lack of experience and skill gets people killed.

If NASCAR is committed to bringing more non-whites into their organization it starts at the fan level and I don't see many black NASCAR fans. When I drive through traditionally black neighborhoods here in Mississippi I don't see a lot of black kids out tinkering with their car engines like I do the white kids. I don't see what NASCAR can do to change that attitude, that has to happen on the personal level. NASCAR and racing "employees" start out as car and racing enthusiasts and I don't see that interest in the young black kids. I guess NASCAR needs to be forced to start a "Thumping Bass" or "Loud Obnoxious Stereo" or "Expensive Shiney Tire Rims" division to further appease Reverend Shakedown.

I've been watching NASCAR for a lot of years as well as the guys on the local circuits who dream of getting a ride in the big show. There are 43 drivers out of a couple of hundred million people out there. That's less than any other sport on the planet, I believe. And nepotism is the best way to get into the sport.

If African-Americans want into the sport, they are going to have to form the teams, get the millions needed from the sponsors, and move up the ladder like the rest of the owners.

I'm reminded of Danny DeVito in a movie where he's a slumlord ordered by the court to spend time in his own apartment building. He goes outside the next morning and his new Corvette is nothing but a shell - no tires, no wheels, no stereo, no seats, no nothing. But when he approaches the car the alarm goes off!

Shack suggested that race-car organizations don't reach out to minorities because they "don't particularly...want you out there, no more than they wanted Tiger [golfer Tiger Woods] out there."

Shack must be an idiot. Tiger Woods is currently the most beloved figure in golf and without question the best golfer in the world right now. If Tiger enters a tournament and doesn't win, it's considered an upset.

There is a huge difference in White Supremacy and White Participation. If college and pro sports teams had white/black ratios similar to the surrounding populations there would be a lot of black athletes looking for some other pursuit. NASCAR is the only sport where white men can still get a job. I'm not a racist but the more Je$$e Jack$on talks the more I think about buying a Confederate Flag.

27
posted on 06/25/2003 4:38:15 AM PDT
by Conspiracy Guy
(Read Buddy's, (the labrador retriever), new book about the Clintons, "Living Hell")

"She also expressed hostility for some of NASCAR's fans. "When I watched NASCAR on TV, I saw people holding confederate flags. I am not going to go somewhere where I am seeing confederate flags all the time," Mills said.

Yeah Ms. Mills, it's the evil flags fault.

Them flags haven't stopped NASCAR Craftsman truck series driver Bill Lester from getting a ride on his own merit. And those flags aren't going to stop him from moving up to the big leagues next year on the merits of his own talent, not because he bought or whined his way in.

Excellent point. From the fan point of view, if a person has no interest in the sport then no amount of outreach will generate that interest. From the racer point of view, it would be disastrous to force an affirmative action quota onto racing teams. There are some jobs that absolutely must be filled based on skill and experience and not skin color or gender--building, maintaining, and driving these tin-can rockets are among those jobs. Anything less will get people on the track and in the stands killed.

The first black driver will get a 10-lap lead from the pole position, while the white guys will have to use 6-cylinder engines. NASCAR should have the gumption to tell Jackson publicly to stuff it - he is the worst thing that ever happened to blacks in the past 25 years. He is a race-baiting, thieving charlatan who has used his blackness as a source of income his entire life.

This kind of BS makes me freakin' crazy. To Jesse Jackson I would say, that I don't really give a rats posterior just how much pigmentation is in his or anyone else's skin. It amounts to less that squat in the grand scheme of things. It is people like him that continue to beat to death just how much skin color matters in the world today. The reason that there are so few black fans and even fewer black participants in motorsports is that there is a proportional level of interest in the sport. A number of years ago, Bill Cosby put up money to partially fund a team that did feature a black driver, Willy T. Ribbs. Perhaps double J could cough up some of his dough and do the same thing instead of whining all the time. I wonder why he does not try his extortion scheme on the NHL, probably not enough dollars in it for him. Whining maggot just needs to shut his pie hole and actually DO SOMETHING.

My hooptie rollin', tailpipe draggin'
Heat don't work an' my girl keeps naggin'
Six-nine Buick, deuce keeps rollin'
One hubcap 'cause three got stolen
Bumper shook loose, chrome keeps scrapin'
Mis-matched tires, and my white walls flakin'
Hit mickey-d's, Maharaji starts to bug
He ate a quarter-pounder, threw the pickles on my rug
Runnin', movin' tabs expired
Girlies tryin' to dis 'n say my car looks tired
Hit my brakes, out slid skittles
Tinted back window with a bubble in the middle
Who's car is it? Posse won't say
We all play it off when you look our way
Rollin' four deep, tires smoke up the block
Gotta roll this bucket, 'cause my Benz is in the shop
My hooptie - my hooptie
Four door nightmare, trunk locks' stuck
Big dice on the mirror, grill like a truck
Lifters tickin', accelerator's stickin'
Somethin' on my left front wheel keeps clickin'
Picked up the girlies, now we're eight deep
Cars barely movin', but now we got heat
Made a left turn as I watched in fright
My ex-girlfriend shot out my headlight
She was standin', in the road, so I smashed her toes
Mashed my pedal, boom, down she goes
Law ain't lyin', long hairs flyin'
We flipped the skeez off, dumb girl starts cryin'
Baby called the cops, now I'm gettin' nervous
The cops see a beeper and the suckers might serve us
Hit a side street and what did we find?
Some young punk, droppin' me a flip off sign
Put the deuce in reverse, and started to curse
Another sucker on the south side about to get hurt
Homey got scared, so I got on
Yeah my group got paid, but my groups still strong
Posse moved north, headin for the CD
Ridin' real fast so the cops don't see me
Mis-matched tires got my boys uptight
Two Vogues on the left, Uniroyal on the right
Hooptie bouncin', runnin' on leaded
This is what I sport when you call me big-headed
I pot-hole crusher, red light rusher
Musher of a brother 'cause I'm plowin' over suckers
In a hooptie
It's a three-ton monster, econo-box stomper
Snatch your girly, if you don't I'll romp 'er
Dinosaur rush, lookin' like Shaft
Some get bold, but some get smashed
Cops say the car smokes, but I won't listen
It's a six-nine deuce, so the hell with emissions
Rollin' in Tacoma, I could get burned
(Sound of automatic gunfire) Betta make a u-turn
Spotted this freak with immense posterior
Tryin' to roll smooth through the Hilltop area
Brother start lettin' off, kickin' that racket
Thinkin' I'm a rock star, slingin' them packets
I ain't wit' dat, so I smooth eject
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Playin' that tough crew hardcore dope
The tape deck broke
Damn what's next, brothers in Goretex
Tryin' to find a spot where we could hunt for sex
Found a little club called the N-C-O
Military, competition. You know.
I ain't really fazed, 'cause I pop much game
Rolled up tough, 'cause I got much fame
"How ya doin' baby, my name is Mixalot"
"Mixalot got a Benz boy, quit smokin' that rock"
Ooooh, I got dissed. But it ain't no thing
Runnin' that game with the home made slang
Baby got ished, Bremelo gip.
Keep laughin' at the car and you might get clipped
By a hooptie
Runnin' outta gas, stuck in traffic
Far left lane, throwin' up much static
Input, output, carbeurator fulla soot
"Whatcha want me to do Mix?"
Push freak, push
Sputter, sputter rollin' over gutters
Cars dip low with hard core brothers
Tank on E, pulled into Arco
Cops on tip for Columbian cargo
We fit a stereotype, that's what he said
Big long car, four big black heads
Cops keep jockin', grabbin' like 'gators
'Bout stereotypes, I'm lookin' nuthin' like Noriega
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His partner said "D*mn, they all look like Tyson"
Yes, I'm legit, so they gotta let me go
This bucket ain't rollin' in snow
It's my hooptie

" I'm not a racist but the more Je$$e Jack$on talks the more I think about buying a Confederate Flag."

I share the feelings revealed in the above quote. However, is it not true that Jesse Jackson likely would benefit by more people buying Confederate Flags? Think about it.

Jesse goes about saying and doing absurd things in regards to race. This upsets people who then do emotional things. Jackson then points these things out to potential finacial supporters. Jesse raises more money!

We have all seen similar behavior here on the internet. Jesse Jackson is a professional troll!

A board member of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition says auto-racing organizations such as NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) are "the last bastion of white supremacy" in professional sports.

well a big ole redneck yee-haw atcha jesse. maybe the problem is that you are PUSHing when you should be revving.

I see the Confederate flag as a historic symbol of the American past. I don't see it as a racial symbol. Unfortunately it is too frequently used as a racial symbol. Living in the south I see bumber stickers with it and t-shirts with it. All have little racial slogans on them to make it worse. Je$$e is a Rooster among hens. Lots of crowing and clucking.

48
posted on 06/25/2003 5:25:33 AM PDT
by Conspiracy Guy
(Read Buddy's, (the labrador retriever), new book about the Clintons, "Living Hell")

Ironically, NASCAR was a "platinum" sponsor of Jackson's 2002 Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual conference, and it reportedly has donated at least $250,000 to Jackson's group in recent years

BIG mistake. NASCAR showed Jessie the inside of their wallets. They should have just told him to pound salt, go ahead and boycott them. Not like there are that many black NASCAR fans, and those that are probably don't care about Jessie's opinion anyway.

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